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Monday, October 31, 2011

I haven't played the clean and simple challenge at Splitcoaststampers in FOREVER...but I had a quick idea for today's challenge which is using the colors, Ivory, Chocolate and Red, and am putting up my quickie card:

I made this card with a die from Memory Box(they have some AMAZING dies!!) , the classic set of Stampin Up tree stamps(Lovely as a Tree..the largest pine tree), a single stamp with pine trees(Inkadinkado) , and sentiment from Papertrey Ink(Christmas Blessings). Stamped the trees in Soft Suede,stamped the sentiment in Chocolate Chip, added the die cut deer, tore a piece of ivory card stock for the base of the deers' feet and added red satin ribbon. Popped up on Bazzill Java card stock. I had made this card based on another card I had made weeks ago, but never put up...more masculine, and done with white bazzill paper instead of ivory....

Sunday, October 30, 2011

The challenge this week at Less is More this week is to make a card which has a star/s on it. I pulled out ALL my stars, stamps AND dies and here's what I made with "some" of them:)!!

This first one uses a die I recently got from Memory Box(contains a big and small star...this is the big one) I thought this would be the perfect challenge to use it on...and as I searched my Christmas stamps, came up with this sentiment/verse from Papertrey Ink(Silent Night)...thought they were PERFECT together:)!! I stamped in versamark and embossed with silver on black panel and layered and popped up on silver card(cardstock I've had for 15+ years...do I hold the record for oldest paper used on a card????!!!). Love the look IRL with the shine of the silver, so hard to capture with pictures!!

This next one I used another set from Papertrey Ink(Merry Little Christmas). This set comes with leaves and birds, but after trying SEVERAL cards with all the stamps, then only a few, wound up settling on using only tree and hanging star with the sentiment! Then, I cut out a star,but THAT didn't look good, so just colored star with Summer Sun marker and squirted some yellow stickles over the star. I tell you all this to say, some cards take some real effort, thought, and trial and error!! I KNOW....YELLOW???....definitely NOT Christmas...well a little out-of-the-ordinary....but yellow just "FIT"!! This is the outside:

The inside: Finishing the verse of the song...

...and a close-up of the stickled star:)!!

This third one was my sorry attempt to make a card that simply had stars on it...no Christmas. Not sure that I'm very happy with it...the stars were my attempt at making shiny stars, but then I was going to use a different sentiment that went better with shiny stars...a card about friends should have been/could have been a bit more colorful. Then I thought the sentiment was a little too little(you will likely have to click on picture of card to make it bigger to read the senitment...sorry:)!!)....but I still thought the "idea" of it was worthy of some acknowledgment , so I'm putting it with the other two. Used some black ribbon and stamps from Gina K Designs(sentiment) and star is Papertrey Ink(Star Prints).

I separated the sentiment and masked the bottom part, putting it in the inside of the card(I used the leftover Summer Sun paper from the second card...thought a pop of color upon opening would be cool:)!!):

Another thought provoking challenge...thank you, again, Chrissie and Mandi for this challenge blog...I thank you for the time and effort you not only put into your challenges and your countless comments on other's blogs, but thank you for keeping these challenges TRULY less is more, by holding our cards accountable to standards of less is more...lots of "white"...it all makes my heart so very happy!!!
Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Saturday, October 29, 2011

I have a pad of watercolor paper, and decided to rip a page out and try my hand at watercoloring last night! I had FUN...sort of like childhood all over, except a little more sophisticated:)!! I used some Stampin Up stamps that were PERFECT for the task, here's what I came up with:

I used Stampin Up's Faith in Nature and a Hero Arts sentiment. I used Fired Brick Spiced Marmalade and Peeled Paint distress inks with some water.

This one I used the Simply Soft stamp set, and rather than use the 2nd step stamping, watercolored the insides of the flowers....again using distress inks: Barn Door red, Spiced Marmalade, and Dusty Concord. Stamped the same flowers on the Old Olive card in versamark, and added black ribbon behind the flowers. Popped up all panels...card is 4 x 8".
Not sure what watercoloring is supposed to "look" like...but I do know it was fun!!
Thanks for visiting me today!! Hugs!! Lisa

Friday, October 28, 2011

The challenge atSimply Less is More this week is to make a card with Polka Dots. This was an easy challenge...after all, polka dots are everywhere..on stamps, on... paper, embossing folders...well the possibilities are HUGE...which is what makes this kind of challenge a challenge, there are SO MANY possibilities!! Papertrey Ink is one of my very favorite stamp companies, and they have lots of stamps with polka dots on them, so I chose three frames and decided to make 3 different cards with them...using only Papertrey stamps, Red, White, and Black...the same Papertrey texture plate(canvas/linen)...I LOVE this plate because it makes a card look textured and STILL gives you the ability to stamp on it unlike an embossing folder...love the "touch" of texture... and all cards have red ribbon!! Here's what I came up with:

This first one I used All Booked Up for the image, For the Graduate for the frame and Beyond Basic Borders for the sentiment. I used Mat Stack 3 and Mat Stack 3 Layerz dies. Here's a side view:

This idea for this second one came fromMaile Belles who made a card with this Frame and flowers last year. I hand cut the frame and popped it up over the flowers made with Fillable Frames#1 and Asian Fusion(also dotted with black enamel accents). Used Bow Easy to make the bow.

Again, a side view which shows the enamel accents a bit better:

This third one I used Mat Stack 3 Collection stamp and die, for the black frame, I used Tag Its #2. I hand cut the black circular frame and the red frame. I used Blooming Button Bits for the flower and Flower Garden for the sentiment.

I dotted the flower with a big stick on glittery dot from Michael's and popped up whole framed piece on white card. Here's a side view:

Interestingly...I originally made the card without the polka dotted mat...but after sitting on the card(not literally)...I tried the red polka dots and thought the red dots looked better than bare white...what do you think??? Here was the original:

Thanks to Mandi and Chrissie for showcasing my cocktail card from last week's challenge...I am honored to be showcased by you...Less is More rocks!!!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

The house has been very quiet this morning, the laundry is done, the kitchen is clean, Noah is sleeping...STAMPING TIME!! I haven't played many challenges of late, but this week's Clean and Simple has a DELIGHTFULLY clean and simple sketch...quick and easy, the possibilities are ENDLESS...here are three I came up with in no time!!

Yesterday, while shopping with my daughter Emma, I found these felt leaves at World Market(what a FUN place to shop!!). Added a Papertrey Ink sentiment( Autumn Acorns).

For this one, I used the middle sized flower from the threesomes that I die cut the other day for a card and used 2 papertrey ink sets(Heart Prints and Through the trees) stamping the hearts and tree branches with versamark, stamping on flowers and clear embossing. I took my Spiced Marmalade distress ink pad and kept dotting flowers with it until the patterns were formed with the orange(this was textured paper and it wasn't as easy to get solid color very quickly). Dotted with black stick on dots and added Stampendous sentiment, rounded only bottom corner(yes, I did that on purpose...just because:)!!)

This one I used a die cut from Papertrey Ink as well as the snowflake stamp that matches it(Peace Be Still), stamped in Real Red and added a red rhinestone in center. The sentiment is also Papertrey Ink(Signature Christmas). This one I rounded both right side corners...this one I just thought it looked better that way...oh creativity...lol:)!!
LOVE this sketch!!!!
Thanks for looking, hope you have a great weekend!!

Friday, October 21, 2011

I was part of an online class a month ago with Jennifer Mc Guire...LOVED it!! These birds were a part of the class...a template with the 5 birds which I copied off on Papertrey Ink cardstock and cut out. I used a Hero Arts flower stamp(Large Open Flower) and stamped the pattern on each bird in Chocolate Chip and clear embossed. I then swiped each bird with a different color of distress ink and wiped off(in order: Antique Linen, Scattered Straw, Tea Die, Brushed Corduroy, Frayed Burlap). Popped each up over a piece of twine. The sentiment is Papertrey Ink(Autumn Acorns) stamped in chocolate chip, too. Here's a bit of an angled view to show the dimension. Oh...the card is 8 x 4 inches.

Thanks for looking, hope your Friday is fantastic!!!

EDIT: I contacted Jennifer McGuire about the template, and it is for students of the online class only, and cannot be given out. You can, however, still register for the READ/WATCH ONLY MODE of the classes which include these birds...you can find the link HEREif you are interested in being able to download the bird template yourself:)!!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

This week's challenge at Simply Less is Moreis to make a card with the theme COCKTAIL. I have never been a cocktail kinda girl, and although this challenge was open to interpretation, all forms of cocktail that I could think of were beyond my realm of creativity, so I found this challenge really challenging!! I googled cocktails to find some cocktail inspiration and I found this one that really caught my eye:

I thought the color was so pretty! I tried at least a 1/2 dozen cards, but nothing seemed just right(and as a second opinion I ask my DD Emma...she didn't like any of them either). I kept coming back to my original idea, which wasn't my idea at all but the creativity of a brilliant stamper, Jenny who made a card I just love and keep going back to for inspiration, found HERE!!
I used her idea of the MFT(My Favorite Things) die where all three flowers are attached, die cut them, added sentiment(Hero Arts) and put a piece of polka dotted embossed bright green paper behind them. Popped it up on card and added black glitter stick on dots(cool that they come in 3 different sizes like the flowers...from Michaels) SUPER simple...but here's the thing....I first made an all white one, then thought that maybe it would look cooler on a black card...so here are both:
First the all white:

Then the black one:

It continues to be a crazy week, but I'm thankful that I got to play a little...and make some cards I like:)!!
Hope you have a great weekend...smile!!

Friday, October 14, 2011

I made this one with a die from Memory Box and sentiment from Papertrey Ink(Fall Elegance) and some distress inks. I used Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade and Brushed Corduroy inks. I used glossy paper for the tree and simply brushed the inks right on the tree from the pad and brushed off with a paper towel. The really tough part of this card was the sentiment!!! I wanted to use a brown that matched the tree, but all the brown dye inks I have just didn't go AT ALL!! I tried SEVERAL times to use the Brushed Corduroy distress ink for the sentiment, but UGLY!! Every time it looked blurry or runny...I have now discovered that distress inks are tough to use on sentiments (well at least on a finely detailed one like this!!). But here's what I did...I FIRST stamped the sentiment on a versamark pad and THEN stamped on the Brushed Corduroy before stamping on the paper...IT WORKED WONDERFULLY...and the cool thing is that the versamark makes the ink wet enough to emboss( which I LOVE on sentiments!!!)!! Added ribbon and "trimmed" the tree a bit.

I made this one with a set from Papertrey Ink(Iconic Images and Fall Elegance for sentiment). Stamped in Cajun Craze and cut out pitcher and popped up over stamped flowers(Summer Sun and Old Olive). Framed, popped up and layererd on Old Olive card using Papertrey Ink Impression Plate(canvas/linen).

This one doesn't have the same sentiment...but has the same "idea":)!!
I made this card with a set from Hero Arts(Dots and Flowers) and Papertrey Ink Sentiment(Friends Til the End). I stamped with versamark on black paper and white embossed. Added cut out flower stamped on Summer Sun and Old Olive...embossed the Summer Sun card with embossing folder(Craft Concepts).
Thanks for looking, hope you have a great day:)!!!!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

My beautiful daughter, Hannah and handsome son-in-law, Nic were in town from last Wednesday through Monday night for his brother's wedding. Hannah's bedroom has become my craft room since she got married last year, but when they are home, it becomes their room. I squeeked out one card last week for a challenge that I hadn't been a part of for a while. We all cried when she/they left(thank goodness Thanksgiving is in one month and Christmas quickly after... we will see them again soon), but since their departure, have had fun being back in my haven!!
The challenge at Less is More this week is to make a one layer card with a heart or hearts on it. I came up with a few:

For this card I used a piece of red cardstock and adhered 8 punched hearts in a row across the bottom of the card. I place another thin piece of paper behind the red of the exact width as the red(5 1/2") and positioned it squarely behind the red. I then punched out the 8 hearts with the heart punch...now having 8 punched hearts in the red card, and the exact 8 punches in the thin paper behind the red card. I used the thin paper as a template and took my versamark pad and dabbed it over the 8 punched holes...on the INSIDE of the red card. I embossed with white powder and this is what I got:

I added sentiment on inside and out(Hero Arts) with ribbon, heart button and punched holly(Martha Stewart). Here's another view:

For the next one, I used a Stampin Up set(Thanks from the Heart) and my Stamp-a-ma-jig stamping in Real Red and black, punched holes and added ribbon:

I added a Verve sentiment (Thankful Hearts) and a little red rhinestone heart...so small you probably wouldn't even know it was a heart...but here's a closer look:

For the next one, made before the first one, I got the idea to use A Muse paper, it has color on one side, white on the other. I turned the Bubblegum paper with the pink on the inside, punched the hearts and now the PINK is the color that shows. I scored lines added sentiment(Inkadinkado) and added A Muse ribbon with another heart button and floss. Here it is closed:

Here it is open:

The next one used a Stampin Up heart(I Heart Hearts) and a Verve sentiment(Hundred Hearts). I stamped the heart in Regal Rose and spayed with Ink Potion No. 9 and stamped. I stamped the sentiment over it and clear embossed the sentiment. I got the idea from Kim S...to use nesties to frame...so I drew a frame with a nestie and a marker...THANKS for the great idea, Kim!! This card is 4 1/4" square.

For this last card, I used a Stampin Up heart punch punched through a scrap piece of typing paper and sponged the heart with 3 colors of Ranger distress inks(Scattered Straw, Wild Honey,Brushed Corduroy) I then stamped over them with a stamp that I received from DRS Designs. I made a card very similiar to this one last Jan/Feb before Valentine's Day on Splitcoaststampers site you can find itHERE. I realized after I put up this link, that I used VERY similiar colors to those that Birgit used on her original....must have remembered it...she DOES amazing work!!! I stamped the stem in Early Espresso and dotted with white Enamel Accents. Added another sentiment from the same Verve set as the second card. Wanted something a little more "Fall" colored...I'm still not done with Fall:)!!:

Hearts are so versatile and so much fun...what a great challenge...Thanks, Mandi and Chrissie!!!
Thanks for looking, hope you have a great rest of your week!!

Friday, October 7, 2011

I am a couple weeks behind on the Clean and Simple challenge, how nice they keep them open for 2 weeks for people like me!! They have 3 sketch challenges open right now...check them out HERE. Here's mine and the sketch:

and the sketch:

I made my card with inspiration from Jenny...she is so creative and makes such amazing, wonderful and beautiful cards...this is the one that inspired me(you can find it on THIS post). I'm not sure that I like MY colors too well...but used a Papertrey Ink die for the flowers. I made 6 flowers and placed them where I wanted them and put adhesive on them on the paper. I then placed the die OVER the cut flowers and die cut each one out. I placed polka dotted paper behind each cut out and used stick on dots covered with adhesive and then covered with cut out circles of more polka dotted paper(used the owl punch...the middle eye circle for the cut outs) and put them in each flower. I used some seam binding and a sentiment from Hero Arts(versamark with white embossing powder). Popped up on white bazzill card...yeah...I beat the deadline!! Thanks for looking, hope you have a great day:)!!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

This week's challenge at Simply Less is More is to make a card with the color of your eyes. Hope you can tell what color mine our!:

Ok...there's a touch of red...I figure it could be the bloodshot in my eye during this allergy season, again:)!! I got my Big Shot a couple days ago...YEAH!!!! The last two cards were made before it's arrival. Made this one with a die from Memory Box. The sentiment on this one is from Hero Arts(Very Merry Christmas), as is the tiny ornament(found in a set of sentiments - Holiday Sayings). Used a couple different Bazzill white papers, tearing one for the snow.

Made this one with Papertrey Ink's Larger Than Life...stamping in Chocolate Chip ink the Papertrey Ink sentiment as well(Signature Greetings). I used Ranger Stickles Walnut Stain color to dot the stems. Here's a close look:

This last one has colors other than just brown, let it be known that I tried to make a brown owl...it just didn't work. I'm adding it to this post, anyway:)! I have had the hardest time making an owl that is the "cutest thing ever" with this punch...so after googling pictures of owls, I found that many of them are grey and white...but almost all of them have bright yellow in their eyes...so this is a more realistic owl than cutesie!

I used a background woodgrain stamp by All Night Media, the Stampin Up owl punch and a sentiment from Stampendous. I stamped the woodgrain and cut the paper with slight curves so it looked like a tree, cut a hole out and used another stamped piece to put behind the owl. Popped up on bazzill white card. Used Chocolate Chip paper and ink.
Thanks for looking, I hope your day is wonder-filled!!!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

One Layer Wednesday, hosted by Susan at Simplicitythis week is challenging us to make a card based on inspiration from Janelle's blog. I was inspired by the opening post and the cards she made with Papertrey's Mat Stack 3 in THIS POST. I used Papertrey's All Booked Up and Round and Round to take her layered card and make it one layer(and my first Christmas cards...I'm still loving Fall, but making these were fun:)!!). Janelle's cards are inspiring, but her life is the most amazing inspiration...what an incredible woman!! Janelle, you are a treasure!!! Here are my cards:

Stamped in Old Olive and used a red gel pen for the dots between the leaves on the first one and the dots between the sentiments on both. Used nailhead stick ons on the second, the sentiment is Hero Arts(Holiday Sayings). Put ribbon where the sentiment is usually stamped.
Thanks for looking, hope you have a great weekend!!